As state lawmakers battle over what should be cut to save money in the next state budget, a few hundred million dollars could go a long way in saving some programs and services currently on the chopping block.

State officials said the collecting of a use tax on Internet purchases is proving hard to enforce.

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When people buy something online or through a catalog, they don't pay sales tax. But Pennsylvania law has always required state residents to pay 6 percent tax on those items. The use tax would be applied when a consumer files state taxes each year.

"A lot of people think they don't have to comply with this, and they do," said Rep. John Bear of the 97th District in Lancaster County.

Bear also said people mistakenly believe the use tax is new, but it is not. The state has always struggled to collect the use tax, he added.

With websites like Amazon.com growing in popularity, "More and more people are going online and not buying form brick-and-mortar stores," Bear said.

For 2011 filings, the state even changed its tax-return form to specifically ask taxpayers to list how much they owed in an attempt to reclaim more of that money.

Out of about 6.2 million returns received so far, the state revenue department reported about 103,000 of those included tax payments for items purchased online or out of state. That totals 1.6 percent of all returns with a dollar figure of $3.3 million.

State officials said they estimate the state is losing between $250 million and $400 million in unpaid tax annually from taxpayers who aren't self-reporting.

"As people change the way they buy things and their habits, we have to get that revenue to come back. And if not, it's going to have lots of consequences, and we're seeing that already with annual budgets," Bear said.

State lawmakers said they are already banking on collecting $50 million in additional tax owed to make the next state budget balance.

A change coming on Sept. 1 should help the state reach that goal.

Online retailers that have any physical presence in Pennsylvania, like an Amazon.com warehouse, would fall into that category and be forced to collect tax at the point of sale.

"Those online retailers will start to collect sales tax and use tax really from individuals and remit that back to the state," Bear said.

But even with that change, individuals will still be responsible for remitting use tax on items bought from online retailers that don't charge sales tax at the point of sale.

Another challenge lawmakers face is digital products, like iTunes and virtual book downloads, which often aren't taxed.

Anyone who realizes they've made a mistake on a tax return can file an amended return.